Soccer (M)

ROCK HILL, SC -- The Catawba men’s soccer team was picked eighth in the 2011 South Atlantic Conference preseason coaches’ poll which was released by the league office. The Catawba Indians placed three players on the preseason All-SAC team, headed by first team selection Carson Smith (Mooresville, NC/Mooresville HS). Domhnall Minogue (Greystones, IRELAND/Presentation) and Corey Faughnan (Jacksonville, FL/Jacksonville HS) were second team picks.

Smith led the team last season with nine goals and eight assists. Four of his tallies went for game winners. Faughnan provided four goals and six assists with a pair of game winners. Minogue helped the defense post four shutouts and also chipped in with two goals.

Defending SAC regular season co-champion Wingate is a favorite to win the league’s men’s soccer title. The Bulldogs, who earned an at-large bid to the 2010 NCAA Tournament, edged Anderson by a single point, collecting six first place votes to a pair for the Trojans.

Anderson will open the season ranked 17th in the NSCAA national poll – the only SAC school to appear in the preseason top 25. The Trojans won the Food Lion SAC Tournament last season and advanced to the NCAA II Southeast Regional Final.

Lincoln Memorial is third in the poll, grabbing one first-place vote. They are followed by Carson-Newman and Mars Hill, who also received a first-place vote in the poll. Rounding out the poll is Lenoir-Rhyne at No. 6, then Tusculum, Catawba, Newberry and Brevard.

Anderson led the way with a league-high four student-athletes on the first team preseason All-SAC team, including reigning SAC Player of the Year and Daktronics All-American Lasse Sohrweide. The Trojans also placed one player on the second team.

Mars Hill has three players on the first team and two on the second team, while Carson-Newman and Wingate each have four preseason all-conference selections. Catawba, Lincoln Memorial and Lenoir-Rhyne each have two All-SAC selections.